Tom Mercier, a 26 year old actor, earned comparisons to Marlon Brando following his performance in filmmaker Nadav Lapid’s drama Synonyms, in which he plays a young Israeli soldier who abandons his home country to begin a new life in Paris.

The film is critical of Israeli militarism, won The Berlin Film Festival's top prize (The Golden Bear) in 2019, and was a hit both in Israel and in France. Mercier, a judo champion–turned-dancer who previously wanted to be a combat soldier in the Israeli army, won praise for the physicality he brought to the role. He’ll next be seen in Call Me By Your Name director Luca Guadagnino’s upcoming HBO miniseries We Are Who We Are, about two teenagers who come of age on an American military base in Italy.